{"id":19208,"date":"2018-08-06T07:28:11","date_gmt":"2018-08-05T20:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=19208"},"modified":"2021-08-25T13:32:41","modified_gmt":"2021-08-25T03:02:41","slug":"suntenants-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/suntenants-review\/","title":{"rendered":"SunTenants: A Simple Way To Get Solar On Rented Roofs?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"tenant

Suntenants offers simple solar for renters.<\/p><\/div>\n

Update August 25th 2021:\u00a0 <\/strong>Sun Tenants is no longer in operation.<\/em><\/p>\n

Almost one-third of Australians live in rental properties.\u00a0 This is a problem because tenants don’t like paying their own money to put solar panels on their landlord’s roof and few landlords see solar power as a good investment.\u00a0 Because of this, lots of the population are missing out on the savings solar slathers all over electricity bills.\u00a0 It also prevents the world benefiting from the extra clean energy that would be generated.<\/p>\n

SunTenants<\/a> is a company working to resolve this problem and get more solar panels on rental roofs.\u00a0 They do this by solving the coordination problem between renters and landlords1<\/a><\/sup>.\u00a0 SunTenants can fix this problem — for a price.\u00a0 But if the alternative is no solar gets installed then I think it is a price worth paying.<\/p>\n

If you decide you want to use SunTenants’ services and you’re a landlord simply get in touch with them.\u00a0 If you are a tenant then you have to convince your landlord to get in touch with them.<\/p>\n

\"Convincing<\/p>\n

After that:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. SunTenants will work with the landlord to determine the size and type of solar power system to be installed.<\/li>\n
  2. They will determine a fair increase in rent based on its expected output.<\/li>\n
  3. The landlord then arranges installation or has SunTenants arrange it.<\/li>\n
  4. The landlord pays for the solar power system and pays SunTenants\u00a0$540-$640 to have a WattWatcher energy monitor installed.\u00a0 The landlord also pays an annual fee of $104.50.<\/li>\n
  5. SunTenants monitors the system and ensures both parties continue to benefit.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Tenants who are at home during the day will save more on their electricity bills as they will use more solar electricity, but the rent increase is kept at a level so renters should never be worse off even if they use no solar electricity at all.<\/p>\n

    Dr Bjorn Sturmberg — Founder Of SunTenants<\/h2>\n

    SunTenants was founded by Dr Bjorn Sturmberg.\u00a0 If I remember how to speak Foreign correctly that directly translates into Dr Bear Storm Mountain.\u00a0 Clearly with a name like that his options in life were limited to either becoming a superhero or super-villain.\u00a0 Fortunately for us, he chose virtue over villainy and rather than attend Evil Medical School<\/a> for six years, he obtained his doctorate from the University of Sydney with the thesis The optical physics of dielectric nanostructures: enabling improved photovoltaic designs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    \"Dr

    Dr Bjorn Sturmberg when I looked at him through the round window. (He’s the tall one on the right.)<\/p><\/div>\n

    With his advanced knowledge of nanotechnology it probably would have been very easy for him to build some sort of super suit and fly around in metal tights punching people.\u00a0 Instead he set out to increase the amount of clean renewable energy produced by getting more solar panels on the roofs of rental properties.\u00a0 It’s a good thing too because a few days ago it reached 32 degrees at the Arctic Circle<\/a> in Norway.<\/p>\n

    \"The<\/p>\n

    Australians are a bit broken when it comes to hot weather these days.\u00a0 We read that it was 32 degrees in summer over there and think, “So it was a bit chilly then?”\u00a0 This is because our 40+ degree summer heatwaves have fried our brains.\u00a0 But trust me, it shouldn’t be that hot in the Arctic.\u00a0 I feel really bad for the Norwegians.\u00a0 So bad I promise I’ll never make fun of Norway<\/a> again until I feel like it.\u00a0 It would be nice if these<\/a> temperatures<\/a> were caused by some super-villain with a heat ray.\u00a0 Then we could just punch him and go home.\u00a0 Unfortunately, they’re due to our dumping too much CO2 into the atmosphere.\u00a0 A molecule that is highly resistant to punching2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n

    The Coordination Problem<\/h2>\n

    SunTenants provide a way to share the benefits of rooftop solar<\/a> so both tenants, landlords and the climate are better off.\u00a0 Some tenants and landlords don’t require any middleman or intermediate woman to help them come to a mutually satisfactory agreement and so don’t need SunTenants’ services.\u00a0 And I think that’s wonderful.\u00a0 But some people appear to think that just because services like SunTenants aren’t always needed no one should ever need to use them.<\/p>\n

    All I can say is these people must be much more charismatic and better at persuading people than I am if they have never needed a third party to help them come to an agreement.\u00a0 It’s an unfortunately fact that a renter may simply be unable to convince their landlord solar is a worthwhile investment<\/a> without SunTenants’ help.\u00a0 Conversely, a landlord who wants to invest in solar power may decide using SunTenants is worth it in order to convince a tenant that putting up their rent in order to pay for it is fair.\u00a0 I’m not saying you should use services like Suntenants’ if you don’t need it.\u00a0 Because that would be dumb.\u00a0 But the middle men and women of the world can and do provide useful services.<\/p>\n

    How SunTenants Works<\/h2>\n

    On the SunTenants’ site it says:<\/p>\n

    “We make solar work for rentals.\u00a0 Fair and simple”<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    I certainly hope that’s true.\u00a0 Otherwise I’m going to feel bloody stupid about writing this article.\u00a0 The site goes on to say how the SunTenants system works in four steps:<\/p>\n

    \"How<\/p>\n

    SunTenants’ Solar Benefits Calculator<\/h2>\n

    SunTenants does the first step — calculating what a fair rent increase for a solar power system is — with their Solar Benefits Calculator<\/a>.\u00a0 I entered an Adelaide address into it and it gave me this information:<\/p>\n

    \"SunTenants<\/p>\n

    That’s a pretty impressive result:<\/p>\n